Men’s Centre Campaign Launch Video Released!

The Canadian Association for Equality invites you to support the men’s centre campaign. In support of the Simon Fraser University Men’s Centre recently approved at that Vancouver campus, help us build men’s centres at every university. We want to provide a welcoming and open space for young people – men and women – facing the serious – and all too common – issues we describe in this video. A place where they can get information and support, connect with others, and stand up together to make a change.

The first step is to start a men’s issues awareness society at your campus. So contact us today at info@equalitycanada.com.

I came to the University Men’s Centre to play Xbox and enjoy the pizza and beer, as I heard from some YouTube videos were the main activities I would enjoy there. But then when my dad was diagnosed with prostate cancer I found some important information at the Men’s Centre.

Gay Bullying

My brother was gay. I remember thinking when he came out to the family he was the most courageous person in the world. The other kids didn’t think so and they tormented him mercilessly. He tried to take his own life when he was 17.

Boys and Education

I didn’t do very well in high school and dropped out early. I took a few part time jobs here and there, but when the economic situation went downhill I lost even those opportunities. I’ve been unemployed now for 3 years.

Fathers

My parents divorced when I was 6. The courts awarded sole custody to my mother. I told them it wasn’t what I wanted, but they told me it was in my best interest. I thought having a dad in my life was in my best interest.

Workforce

My father was badly injured in the saw mill explosion in Burns Lake, BC this January. I heard him tell stories of his friends jumping from the second floor to escape the fire and smoke. Just horrible stuff.

Segment 2

Men’s Health

At the University Men’s Centre I learned that prostate cancer is just as deadly as breast cancer (1) yet receives only a fraction of the funding and that the myth that prostate cancer only affects old men just isn’t true. It’s weird, but new studies show that younger men with certain aggressive forms of the disease are actually more prone to dying quicker (2).

Gay Bullying

At the Men’s Centre I learned that men kill themselves three times more often than women. (3) I also learned that bullying – especially physical bullying – is a much worse problem for boys than girls (4) and boys are over twice as likely to be bullied for being gay, yet less likely to report it or receive any kind of help or support. (5)

Boys and Education

At the Men’s Centre I learned that boys lag behind in secondary school performance and graduation rates significantly. (6) As my friends in university tell me, fewer and fewer men are applying to university. (7)

Fathers

Fatherlessness was rampant in my community, as were drugs and violence. At the Men’s Centre I learned about the consequences of fatherlessness. Children who grow up fatherless are more prone to drug and substance addiction, criminal behaviour, suicide, teen pregnancy, and to wind up in prison. (8), (9) And I can tell you, fatherlessness is certainly not in a child’s best interest.

Workforce

Industries like construction, transportation, fishing, mining, and forestry have two things in common: They are the most dangerous industries in the country, and the jobs are occupied almost entirely by men. (13) We hear a lot about gender in the workplace, but these industries and this issue are all-too-often ignored. At the Men’s Centre I learned that men account for over 60% of workplace injuries (14) and almost all workplace deaths. While the rate of workplace death is thankfully falling for women, it continues to rise for men. (15)

Segment 3

Men’s Health

There’s just so much we don’t understood about prostate cancer. That’s why at the Men’s Centre we support Movember and other initiatives to fundraise and spread awareness about prostate cancer. I’ve also learned about PSA screening tests and encouraged my family members to start taking them.

Gay Bullying

At the Men’s Centre I found social support groups for guys like my brother. I learned how to encourage men to ask for help, and the places I could send them to find it.

Boys and Education

The teachers, most of them women, seemed to pay more attention to the girls in the class and my parents never pushed me as hard as my sister. (10) So at the Men’s Centre I’m working to tutor and mentor young boys in at risk neighborhoods, so that they have as many educational opportunities as possible.

Fathers

The Men’s Centre helped me get over the alienation I had experienced after years when my mother prevented my dad from visiting me and it helped me understand the magnitude of this problem in society. (11) Now I’ve joined a political initiative to make equal shared parenting the presumption when courts award custody.

Wokforce

At the Men’s Centre I learned about occupational safety and about my right to refuse dangerous work. (12) Now, I help host educational events to spread awareness about these rights to other students, especially those working in high-risk jobs.

Segment 4

Men’s Health

I support the Men’s Centre because men’s health is literally a matter of life and death.

Gay Bullying

I support the Men’s Centre because I love my brother.

Boys and Education

I support the Men’s Centre because every case of inequality is important to me.

Fathers

I support the Men’s Centre because I love my dad.

Workforce

I support the Men’s Centre because it might save my life – or maybe even yours.

Call to Action

The Canadian Association for Equality invites you to support the men’s centre campaign. Help us build men’s centres at every university. We want to provide a welcoming and open space for young people – men and women – facing the serious – and all too common – issues we’ve described. A place where they can get information and support. Connect with others. And stand up together to make a change.

(5) ibid.
Proportionally, boys were over twice as likely as girls to suffer this form of harassment…Whereas 14% of boys were affected, 6% of girls were victimized in this way.

(6) Among the 57 countries of the OECD – Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development – 29% more women graduate and go on to university than men.
OECD, Education at a glance, 2010, Table A2.1 (Paris: 2010)

(7) In Canada in 2005, men made up less than 42% of post-secondary students. Source: OECD, higher education to 2030, “Volume I: Demography”, 2008, p. 266.

(8) Father-deprivation is a more reliable predictor of criminal activity than race, environment or poverty. Father deprived children are:
– 72% of all teenage murderers,
– 60% of rapists
– 70% of incarcerated kids
– 90% of runaways
National Fatherhood Initiative (U.S.A.), US Bureau of Census (U.S.A.), FBI (U.S.A.)

(9) Children who grew up fatherless are
– twice as likely to quit school
– five times more likely to commit suicide
– 8 times more likely to go to prison
– 10 times more likely to abuse chemical substances
The Institute for the Study of Civil Society ( Civitas ) U.K. Stunning statistics on the problems of fatherless homes Experiments in Living: The Fatherless Family
Referenced by Canadian Children’s Rights Council – Conseil canadien des droits des enfants: Fatherlessness in Canada http://www.canadiancrc.com/Fatherlessness/Fatherlessness_in_Canada.aspx

(10) Dr. Cappon suggests we “need to change culture and social norms affecting the development of boys’ values and self images”. The big problem is the gap in literacy, reading and writing. reading and education are viewed as girl activities.
Exploring the “Boy Crisis” in Education, Dr. Paul Cappon, Canadian Council on Learning, Bosch Foundation, Berlin, January 27-29, 2011
Access Document Exploring the Boys Crises in Education